1. Technical Field:
The present invention relates in general to integrated circuits and in particular to a method for manufacturing wafers for use in manufacturing integrated circuits. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a silicon-on-sapphire wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art:
The use of sapphire substrates in the production of semiconductor devices, such as silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) devices, has greatly increased. SOS integrated circuit technology is a promising field for advanced high speed integrated circuits for computer and microwave applications.
Integrated circuit manufacturing equipment has evolved in recent years through the use of robotic wafer transfer systems. For those robotic wafer transfer systems to function, the robot must be able to sense either optically or electrically the presence of a silicon wafer. These robot sensors have evolved around the properties of a silicon wafer--the sensors are looking for an opaque, conductive object. This sensor evolution has rendered these tools incompatible for manufacturing integrated circuits using wafers with properties different than those of silicon wafers. The ability to process SOS wafers with standard silicon-wafer-processing equipment is important for a profitable SOS manufacturing environment. However, since the SOS wafer is translucent and an insulator, the SOS wafer is an example of a substrate that is incompatible with common silicon wafer integrated circuit processing equipment.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a SOS wafer that is compatible with presently available silicon wafer integrated circuit processing equipment.